Bitcoin Forum

In light of recent implementation of BTC prices on some sites such as CNBC (http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/MTGOXUSD), I think it's time we follow the ISO 4217 currency code standard in preparation of larger organizations.

Yes, there are a plethora of threads just like this one, one posted even last month and some 2 years ago. That doesn't change the fact that it's an important topic that needs attention.

This standard is created by the International Organization for Standardization and is published as a list of standard currency codes referred to as the ISO 4217 code list.

Currency codes are composed of a country's two-character Internet country code plus a third character denoting the currency unit. For example, the Canadian Dollar code (CAD) is made up of Canada's Internet code ("CA") plus a currency designator ("D").

In the event a code is not sponsored by a government or country in specific (Bitcoin), it is preceded with an "X". If Bitcoin is ever to be added to the ISO 4217 currency code list, it is the belief of many including myself, that this will happen as XBC or XBT (edit: XBC being unlikely since the EU has used it to refer to a bond). To facilitate this transition, from this day forward I will be referring to bitcoin as either XBC or XBT in all of my projects, writings, and work. I ask that those interested in the standardization and mainstream adoption of Bitcoin do the same, or in the very least explore and share their opinions on what we can do to make the code more standardized.

Agreed, if we start making the transition now it will be very easy.

XBTCC it is.

That's why Ripples are called XRP.

No.  The naming system is a tacit endorsement of the idea that something issued by a government is more official then something that is not.   We should not voluntarily put ourselves in the X subbasement.

I disagree XBC > BTC.

I understand and acknowledge the standard, but you have to remember who is using it.

Most people when they go to the store see a $, not USD. If you're a professional forex trader then you don't care if the populace calls coins dog biscuits; if they are worth 100K each, you'll figure out what any proper ISO code is.

In the meantime using XBC will confuse everyone else, who will have a hard enough time understanding what a bitcoin is in the first place.

I agree, but I think Matthew is probably right about the fact that when Bitcoin gets noticed and standardized, it will probably get an X.

But we are free people, and can call it what we want!  Maybe we should give Bitcoin a 4-character currency code, since it is bigger and better than any currency that came before. :)

I agree, but wasn't it XBT?

There are plenty of threads on this topic, just search google for "XBC". One here dates back as far as 2 years ago (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=149150.0) on this issue, I'm just rehashing it because it's relevant. That said, the XBC code was previously used for this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Unit_of_Account_9

If XBC is not accepted by the ISO, I would recommend XBT instead.


Yes, you're right, in looking over the old threads that was what the general consensus had come to. I've updated my OP to reflect. Long live XBT!

I like BTC. People know what I'm talking about when I say BTC, as they would if I say mBTC. XBC just seems wrong. mXBC is even worse. I don't care about some international standard, Bitcoin isn't even a country. It's a way forward... let them adapt to us, not the other way around. Larger organizations? I don't even like that, Bitcoin's economy is being built from the ground up, I believe in driving small businesses for competition and free markets, the complete opposite of what is happening in our societies as of late. If businesses don't want to board, let them sink. Fuck the international standard. BTC!!!

 :D

This was discussed here not long ago:

2013: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=148229.0;all
2011: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=29061.0

I agree with justusranvier: let's use BTC until it's so commonly accepted that ISO follows along.

What do you have against common knowledge? Is it in bitcoin's best interest to complicate things purposely because "fuck everyone"? Did you realize that the characters you're typing your opinion on are in ASCII, an international standard? Do your rights feel abused now that you know this? Did you want to talk in sticks and dots from now on?

I'm saying it's completely irrelevant whether we follow it or not. To change it from BTC is just a waste of "common knowledge" already established.

Compromise and conformity are not the same thing. One of them enhances exposure and acceptance of what you already believe in. It seems you believe doing this would somehow harm bitcoin or its underlying principles. The current implementation of Ripple started out as "NewCoin" btw. Aren't you glad they changed the name and "compromised" for clarity and marketing purposes? Doesn't it make it a bit easier to know what it is as a result?

I'm not against "BTC", but I think it's more likely it will be given an "X". If your argument is just "wait and see what they say" (which doesn't seem to be your argument at all), then I guess I could agree with that but wouldn't want to sit around and not have some options to toss at them.

Bottom line: we should agree on it as a community and send a clear, consistent message to the ISO, that would be great. BTC is probably impossible as Bitcoin is not a currency of Bhutan.



This. The official code of the US dollar is USD, but we still call them "dollars", "bucks", "greenbacks", "$", etc.

Just because the official name is XBC doesn't mean that we can't use the term BTC on this forum and with other people. Let's make things simpler.

0100110001100101011101000010011101110011001000000111010101110011011001010010000 0010110000100001001000011001011100010000001010100011010000110100101110011001000 0001101001011100110010000001110100011011110110111100100000011010000110000101110 0100110010000100000011101000110111100100000011100100110010101100001011001000010 1110

0010101100110001

Some standards are great.  I love ISO 8601.

But I don't want to give up BTC.  I want it to be noticed, when it is noticed, as something entirely new, wild, and uncontrollable; something that cannot be pigeonholed.

I've contacted SIX to see just what their objections (if any) will be to adding it as a currency code, and if none, I will follow through and see how far it can go. When it gets to a point I can't handle it all on my own, I'll pass it on to someone much more knowledgeable, and will keep this thread posted just the same. If I make no future posts in this thread, it means SIX ignored me completely.

Unfortunately, that's not a property people look for in a currency. The reaction to Bitcoin's volatility should be evidence of that.

I hardly see how something that is not controlled by the government can't equally be recognized by a body of financial institutions with a standard quote symbol though. Korea used to be spelled "Corea" until Japan changed it during their occupation to "Korea" to make "Japan" come first. Kind of sucks, but looking back, "Corea" seems like a totally retarded name for a country, don't you think?

I like it.   Seems consistent with XAU (gold) and XAG (silver).  But I guess it makes sense, as these conform to this very ISO.

Notice that XBC is already taken for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Unit_of_Account_9.  So XBT it will be.

My suggestion remains XBT for millibitcoin and keep BTC for bticoin. So 1 BTC = 1000 XBT

snap. that venture capital chap thought valuations should go up by 30x if the sort of use cases an international currency code would merit came into being. (about 3 USD per mBTC)

time to make the jump now and apply for XBT to be a millibitcoin ?

(yes you could do satoshis too but seriously, when's the last time you divided something by 10^8?)

Great idea!

XSatoshi

XMB ??

i propose for the asset/trading investment of bitcoin to be
XBT

and for the currency version (thinking about far in the future when we will be doing daily transactions in satoshi's)
SAT

Every Bitcoin user recognizes BTC as Bitcoin code. ISO reserves BT* for Bhutan, but Bhutan does not use BTC yet. When it will, that might be a problem for them, not for anyone around. I'm not offending anyone in Bhutan, it's just if I was in Bhutan and there were tons of people already putting particular meaning in BTC, I would think twice before using it for some currency project.

I really really don't care if they don't call it anything....you have it wrong.....their currencies will likley be defunct in 15 -20 it years or a remnant of a bygone age.....seriously its like you want to be ruled.....over by some insignificant organization

+2

The minor currency in Bhutan is called the chhertum which means they may already use BTC for this internally. They have every right to.

Bitcoin is a global currency, which is what the X-codes are for. So XBT is the best choice, as XBC has been used by the European central bank.
BTC is fine for informal use, just as many computer systems hold YEN instead of JPY.  Not having an ISO code is a monumental handicap for Bitcoin.

Thank you for contributing to this thread. I liked yours a lot!  :)


As for the argument people are making to making a symbol for the ISO will somehow:

• harm bitcoin
• subject it to government reptilian control
• ruin their domain naming scheme

All I can say is, KRW is never referred to here in Korea as KRW-- it's called WON and the only time you see KRW is when dealing with transactions to other countries, their currencies, etc.

ISO 4217 is a reference table for everyone to know what something is called when they're talking about it so that they are all on the page and can have confidence that it won't be misunderstood. Any argument against making things simpler for everyone in the world is one of cultist paranoia, and the person arguing so might as well extend their argument to speaking in tongues throughout their work day. Afterall, who cares if anyone understands a single word you're saying? Standards are for pussies! From this moment on, all the words I use in the standardized English language will have new made-up meanings by me, because bitcoin.

Thank you Matthew for picking up the baton!

I sent an email to SIX standards about a month ago, but no reply, which is par for the course with them.
I also sent an inquiry to Peter and Lindsay at the Bitcoin Foundation to ask if they were making any representation to SIX and whether they wanted any help with that, but no replies yet either. However, Bitcoin has done its merry price dance since then, so maybe they are distracted.

Edit:
Precious metals have X-codes, which includes palladium, XPD. The world reserves are about 1,000 million ounces. This is worth about $7 billion. Bitcoin's monetary base is about $1.4 billion. I think that once it closes in on the value of the palladium stockpile, then it will be untenable for an official ISO code to be withheld.

http://palladium-bar.blogspot.co.nz/2007/09/palladium-reserves-and-palladium.html

Yes, well, let's try not to give the Bitcoin Foundation any power they don't deserve. I registered the Bitcoin Association of Korea afterall, I can email them with just the same amount of furious backing and authority to act on behalf of bitcoin --- none whatsoever.

As for needing evidence for the ISO to take it seriously, FinCEN's various rulings could be used to our advantage building the case for legitimacy.

6e 6f 70 65 2e 6a 70 67

Volatile Gold Down $60  

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/gold-massacre-gold-down-60-cm236691#.UXFCc0rnEVA

Currency Code for Gold :  XAU


I agree.

How about we use XXX, that would make an impact...

I like it!

Alternatively, how about three animated pseudo-kanji characters, moving from top to bottom on a black background?  I think that would be appropriate.

Already taken. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217)

XB_iteC_oin=XBC

Use XBT when referring to the currency for trading purposes. Use BTC when referring to complex transactions and derivatives such as securities and virtual commodities. use Unicode Characters Alt +0243 or Alt +0E3F when labeling merchandise with pricing.

good idea.

Replying to something someone said in the future...  I like it.

way to bump an old thread, but finding a time traveler is worth it.

XBT is designated for a currency that doesn't belong to a currency, and BTC's acronym.

We could just call it XBT or BTC if we want. No need to do 'BTC for this' or 'SAT for that'. Plus, SAToshi and a SAT could get confused.

0100100100100000011000010110001101110100011101010110000101101100011011000111100 1001000000111000001110010011001010110011001100101011100100010000001110100011010 00011010010111001100101110

This.

I see X more as a superattic.

Actually, we need 'X' more than possible. If they used 'BTC', it could be claimed by any country that begins with 'B'. 'X' represents it's not owned by any country.